Tag Archives: Texas

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Wichita Falls, TX – Single sprinkler extinguishes dishwasher fire at university student housing

Firefighters say the fire started in the dishwasher and extended to the cabinet and countertop.

There was a single sprinkler head in the kitchen area that activated so there was a considerable amount of water in the apartment. 3″ of standing water was throughout the apartment before WFFD crews removed it.

The water affected the electrical service in the downstairs apartment and caused multiple breakers to trip.

The damage to the building is estimated at $10,000. The damage to the building contents is estimated at $5,000.

Maintenance was called to the scene to help with utility control and staff arrived on scene to help relocate students.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fort Bend County, TX – (No media coverage) One sprinkler head extinguishes apartment fire; No injuries reported

On June 1, 2019 at approximately 21:18 hours, Investigators from Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to an apartment fire located at 16731 Beechnut St. Houston TX 77083 (Greens at Brentford Apartments). Community Fire Department requested investigators from the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office respond. Upon arrival, investigators found that a small cooking fire had occurred in an apartment. One sprinkler head activated and extinguished the fire. The affected apartment had minor damage. No damage was reported to any other living units. No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Waco, TX – Packaging plant fire held in check by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Waco fire investigators estimate $1,000,000 damage to contents of a packaging plant facility in an early Monday morning fire.

Fire units were dispatched to the Sunoco Packaging plant at 6501 Texas Central Parkway at 1:49 a.m. after someone in the plant pulled a manual alarm.

Occupants of the building were evacuated as the fire was observed in one of the processing machines.

All employees were accounted for and there were no injuries.

The automatic sprinkler system in the plant did operate.

The report indicated the 100,000 square feet of open space and 25-foot ceilings made ventilating the building a challenge.

The initial written fire report indicated the cause of the fire appeared to be a leak in piping carrying solvent to the printing machines with the actual ignition of the solvent being either heat from the operating equipment or a spark from the associated electronics.

Apartment Building, Residential

Orange, TX – Sprinkler system activation controls apartment fire

Firefighters in Orange say a group of Samaritans forced entry into an apartment Sunday to extinguish a fire.

Orange Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday at the Velma Jeter Apartments, in the 5700 block of Velma Jeter Drive in Orange.

According to residents at the scene, they were awakened by the sounding fire alarm going off from the blaze. 

Several residents noticed the fire in the apartment and quickly grabbed nearby fire extinguishers to extinguish the blaze.  

One man broke the glass to retrieve an extinguisher stored in the complex’s sidewalk, kicked in the apartment door and extinguished the fire. The man had to be treated on the scene by fire responders due to smoke inhalations after he collapsed from going inside the burning unit. 

He did not require transport to a hospital.

When firefighters arrived, the fire was mostly out with heavy smoke coming from the unit. They did spend some time verifying the fire was out and that the damage was limited to the single unit.

The occupant of the apartment was not home at the time, and according to neighbors, the resident was seen moving out earlier in the day.

The fire could have been much worse had the sprinkler system not done its job and the residents had not teamed up and worked together according to firefighters.

Nine portable fire extinguishers were used by the neighbors before the fire department arrived.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the City of Orange Fire Marshal.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Houston, TX – Suspected arson fire at grocery store extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office needs your help finding an arson suspect so bold, he or she set a store on fire in the middle of the afternoon.

New video shows a mystery person set multiple small fires along the back wall of the 99 Cents Only store on SH-249 near Bammel North Houston Road.

Authorities said a sprinkler head activated and put out the flames. There were no injuries.

If you have any information on the suspect, call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. You can also submit an anonymous tip at www.Crime-Stoppers.org.

Apartment Building, Residential

Tomball, TX – Single Sprinkler Head Saves 20 Unit Apartment Building

** User Submitted Post – No Media Coverage**  – On Sunday, May 19, 2019 at approximately 5:19pm, the Tomball Fire Department was notified of a structure fire at the Fountains of Tomball Apartment Homes, a 160 unit apartment complex in the 900 block of Village Square Drive in Tomball. The first arriving unit encountered a large volume of smoke and fire on the first floor porch of a 20 unit apartment building. Fire Marshal Joe Sykora said, “Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the porch fire. Entry was made into the apartment and firefighters discovered a fire sprinkler head had extinguished the fire that had entered the apartment from the porch.” All residents of building were evacuated from the structure, notified by the buildings fire alarm system. One injury was sustained to the occupant of the apartment and the occupant was evaluated by the Northwest Community Health Emergency Medical Services Division.

The Tomball Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by a malfunctioning propane barbeque pit on the porch of the apartment. Only one residential unit was affected by this incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Stafford, TX – (No media coverage) Single sprinkler extinguishes kitchen grease fire before fire department arrives

** User Submitted Post – No Media Coverage**  On 5/16/2019 at approximately 0540 hours, Investigators from Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office were dispatched to a kitchen fire at 630 Colony Lakes Estates Drive Stafford, TX 77477. Stafford FD was on scene requesting fire investigators.  Upon arrival of investigators, they found that a cooking fire in the kitchen of a residential apartment had occurred. The fire was due to cooking grease coming in contact with the heating surface of the stove. The fire resulted in the activation of one sprinkler head, which extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of the fire department. Firefighters checked for fire extension with no findings.  Only one residential unit was affected by this incident.

Restaurant

San Antonio, TX – Sprinkler system keeps overnight restaurant kitchen fire from spreading

Food left cooking on a stove all night long is believed to be the cause of a fire at Scuzzi’s Italian restaurant overnight. Firefighters say they found a small fire inside the restauarant, located near Loop 1604 and NW Military, when they arrived shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday. They had to break open the front door of the business, then quickly knocked down the fire.

Firefighters said it appears someone left the stove on all night with food cooking on it, and that is what caused the fire. The sprinkler system activated and kept the fire from spreading, firefighters said. A food inspector from San Antonio Metropolitan Health District was called in to have a look around after the fire. The outcome of that investigation will determine what repairs need to be done before the restaurant can reopen. From outside, the damage appeared to be minimal, although the fire did leave an odor of smoke throughout the building.